Choosing the Right Mulch for Your Landscape

There’s no such thing as an one-size-fits-all mulch.

Your understanding of the various attributes of different types of mulch will help you select the right mulch for your landscape. And, the first distinction or decision you’ll want to make is whether your situation calls for “summer (growing) mulch” or “winter mulch.”

Summer or Winter Mulch

Summer (growing) mulch is typically applied in the spring, after the soil has begun to warm.  Summer mulch is used mostly to: 

  • Reduce the growth of weeds
  • Keep the soil moist
  • Keep the soil evenly warm throughout the summer

Winter mulch is typically applied in the fall, after the soil begins to cool. Shredded leaves, straw, and pine mulch make for good winter mulches. Winter mulch is used mostly to:

  • Insulate woody plants
  • Ensure the soil is evenly cool during the winter

Location

Your next consideration is deciding which mulch is best for your location.  Following are helpful examples of matching mulch to a specific location.

  • Vegetable gardens and small fruit plans commonly require straw, with black plastic
  • Shrub beds and the area around trees are suited well for pine bark mulch chunks, wood chips, and pine needles
  • Annual and perennial beds can be made attractive with fine mulches such as cocoa shells, buckwheat hulls, wood shavings, and bark granules.
  • Rock gardens look more natural with crushed stone or fine gravel mulches

Cost and Availability

Cost and availability are certainly two other considerations when choosing a mulch.

Some mulches are “regional,” only available in regions where they’re processed.  Buckwheat and cocoa are quite attractive, but they are also “regional” and much more expensive than bark or wood chips.

Posted on behalf of Clayton Hulen, Green Brothers Earth Works

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The Most Effective Mulching Varieties

Mulch improves the health of your garden by keeping moisture in the soil and protecting fragile roots from exposure.  It blocks weeds, keeps topsoil from drying out in the heat, and will break down in the winter months to provide even richer soil the next season.

Mulch is sold in bulk at your local landscape supply center.  Depending on the type of mulch you need, you may be able to make your own mulch.  For larger quantities or specific types of mulch, the landscape supply center will have what you need.

Grass clippings are an excellent natural mulch.  You should use the clippings from the first three to four times the lawn is mowed in the springtime for the healthiest mix.  However, if you have applied weed killers or other chemicals to your lawn, don’t use your grass clippings for mulch. You can also use shredded leaves as mulch.  Use a lawn mower or clipper to make them.  These are not a good choice if you live in a windy climate.

Compost is another great and natural option for your garden beds.  You can create your own if you have the time and inclination or buy it at a nursery or gardening center.  It works great to re-introduce fresh organic material to your topsoil over time.  Your landscape supply center will also carry pine bark, hardwood bark, cypress, and dyed mulches you can use to achieve the look you want.

Avoid the use of hay or straws for mulching.  Both have seeds that can create quite the weed epidemic in your landscape.